I don't see why I couldn't use my car's engine as a power generator. I would only need maybe 1000 watts. The car is a 1990 Ford F350 diesel.
The easiest would be to get a heavy duty low-speed alternator (like used in police cars and cabs that spend a lot of time idling). It could put out over 1000 watts of 12 volt DC. Then get an invertor (DC-to-AC converter) rated for 1000 watts 120VAC output. If you are not using the alternator to make AC it will still do a great job on keeping your battery charged.
For emergencies? Yes, absolutely with a F350 Ford Diesel engine you have a great powerplant. Just buy a 1000 watt Trace Inverter and connect to your car batteries and you can have 110 or 220 Volts AC to power small items, tools, Tv and emergency lights. They even have a 3000 watt version called Prowatt 3000.
you cant its too big. its a waste time u are better off selling the engine in the paper to buy a power generator
You'd be wasting too much fuel, though it is possible. 1) replace the existing alternator with some super-heavy-duty ones, ones that go in minibuses and such. As you aren't going to power any AC or such, you can probably power two of them together or with a Y formation. 2) Disconnect the trans and anything else not needed (AC, etc.) This is to make sure th engine run at max efficiency, minimal drag. 3) Get a high-cap inverter, to convert the 12V DC back into 120V AC. This will need to have some serious cooling for itself. Depending on your setup, you should be able to generate 500-1000 watts depending on the capacity of your alternators and capacity of your batteries. I'd recommend you replace the batteries w/ some industrial-sized ones like 8D (about 120 LB each) and feed your power inverter from the battery. Don't forget a good UPS / surge protector just in case.
You can buy inverters that connect to your battery that will produce 1000w Try NAPA or any large aftermarket auto sales company
